Jersey Legal French, also known as Jersey French, is the official dialect of French

French language

French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...

 used administratively in Jersey

Jersey

Jersey, officially the Bailiwick of Jersey is a British Crown Dependency off the coast of Normandy, France. As well as the island of Jersey itself, the bailiwick includes two groups of small islands that are no longer permanently inhabited, the Minquiers and Écréhous, and the Pierres de Lecq and...

. Since the anglicisation of the island, it survives as a written language for some laws, contracts, and other documents. Jersey's parliament

Parliament

A parliament is a legislature, especially in those countries whose system of government is based on the Westminster system modeled after that of the United Kingdom. The name is derived from the French , the action of parler : a parlement is a discussion. The term came to mean a meeting at which...

, the States of Jersey

States of Jersey

The States of Jersey is the parliament and government of Jersey.The Assembly of the States of Jersey has exercised legislative powers since 1771, when law-making power was transferred from the Royal Court of Jersey....

, is part of the Assemblée parlementaire de la Francophonie

Assemblée parlementaire de la Francophonie

The Assemblée parlementaire de la Francophonie is an association of the parliaments of Francophone countries. It was established in Luxembourg in 1967, and was then known as the Association internationale des parlementaires de langue française....

. The English language

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

 has been allowed in parliamentary debates since February 2, 1900; the current use of French in the parliament is generally restricted to formalities (prayers, ceremonies, formulæ).

Jersey's two official language

Official language

An official language is a language that is given a special legal status in a particular country, state, or other jurisdiction. Typically a nation's official language will be the one used in that nation's courts, parliament and administration. However, official status can also be used to give a...

s are French and English.

Jersey Legal French is not to be confused with Jèrriais

Jèrriais

Jèrriais is the form of the Norman language spoken in Jersey, in the Channel Islands, off the coast of France. It has been in decline over the past century as English has increasingly become the language of education, commerce and administration...

, a variety of the Norman language

Norman language

Norman is a Romance language and one of the Oïl languages. Norman can be classified as one of the northern Oïl languages along with Picard and Walloon...

 also called Jersey Norman-French, spoken in the island.

The French of Jersey differs little from that of France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

. It is characterised by several terms particular to Jersey administration and a few expressions imported from Norman.

List of distinguishing features

It is notable that the autochthonous appellation of the archipelago is îles de la Manche (Channel Islands) — îles anglo-normandes (Anglo-Norman Islands) is a somewhat recent invention in continental French.

Like in Swiss French

Swiss French

Swiss French is the name used for the variety of French spoken in the French-speaking area of Switzerland known as Romandy. Swiss French is not to be confused with Franco-Provençal/Arpitan or Romansh, two other individual Romance languages spoken in areas not far from Romandy.The differences...

 and Belgian French

Belgian French

Belgian French is the variety of French spoken mainly in the French Community of Belgium, alongside related minority regional languages such as Walloon, Picard, Champenois and Gaumais. The French spoken in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and Burundi, which were formerly Belgian...

, the numbers 70

70 (number)

70 is the natural number following 69 and preceding 71.-In mathematics:Its factorization makes it a sphenic number. 70 is a Pell number and a generalized heptagonal number, one of only two numbers to be both. Also, it is the seventh pentagonal number and the fourth 13-gonal number, as well as the...

 and 90

90 (number)

90 is the natural number preceded by 89 and followed by 91.- In mathematics :*Because 90 is the sum of its unitary divisors , it is a unitary perfect number, and because it is equal to the sum of a subset of its divisors, it is a semiperfect number. 90 is a pronic number. But it is also a...

 are septante and nonante, respectively, not soixante-dix and quatre-vingt-dix (compare the use of nénante for 90 in Jèrriais).

The names of days and months are usually written in capital letters.

Messire is used for the title of knighthood (continental French uses sir, often lower case ) - for example, the former Bailiff

Bailiff

A bailiff is a governor or custodian ; a legal officer to whom some degree of authority, care or jurisdiction is committed...

 of Jersey, Sir Philip Bailhache

Philip Bailhache

Sir Philip Martin Bailhache KBE is a Jersey politician and lawyer. He was elected as a Senator in the States of Jersey in October 2011. He previously held elected office as Deputy of Grouville 1972-1975...

 is correctly addressed in French as Messire Philip Bailhache.

Finance

Jersey Legal French	French	English
barguin	affaire	bargain
chelin	shilling	shilling
en désastre	en banqueroute	bankrupt
impôts	droits de régie	customs and excise duties
principal	contribuable du rât	principal (ratepayer of a certain value)
quartier	unité de valeur de propriété foncière	quarter (unit of ratable value)
rât paroissial	taxe foncière	parish rate Rates (tax) Rates are a type of property tax system in the United Kingdom, and in places with systems deriving from the British one, the proceeds of which are used to fund local government...
taxe sur le revenu	impôt sur le revenu	income tax
taxer le rât	voter la taxe foncière lors d'une Assemblée de paroisse	set the rate (by vote at a Parish Assembly)

Agriculture

Jersey Legal French	French	English
bannelais		road sweepings (used for fertiliser)
charrière		passage between rocks used for vraicing (collecting seaweed for fertiliser)
fossé	haie	hedge
hèche	barrière	gate
heurif	tôt	early (e.g. potatoes)
vraic	varech	seaweed (used for fertiliser)

Administration

Jersey Legal French	French	English
mandataire		voting representative of a ratepaying company
perquage	chemin de sanctuaire	(so-called) sanctuary path
Procureur du Bien Public Procureur du Bien Public A Procureur du Bien Public is the legal and financial representative of a parish in Jersey. Procureurs are elected for a term of three years....		elected attorney (legal and financial representative) of a Parish
rapporteur	porte-parole	spokesperson (of committee)
Visite du branchage Visite du Branchage A Visite du Branchage is an inspection of roads in Jersey and Guernsey to ensure property owners have complied with the laws against vegetation encroaching on the highway.-Jersey:...		inspection of roads
Visite Royale		inspection of a Parish by the Royal Court
vingtaine Vingtaine A vingtaine is a political subdivision of Jersey. They are subdivisions of the various parishes of Jersey, and one, La Vingtaine de la Ville , in Saint Helier is further divided into two cantons.St...		administrative division of a Parish
Vingtenier		Honorary Police officer
voyeur	témoin assermenté	sworn witness
Centenier		senior Honorary Police officer
écrivain	notaire	solicitor
Connétable	maire	Constable Constable A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions.-Etymology:...  (elected head of Parish)
Deputé-Bailli	bailli adjoint	Deputy Bailiff
Juré-Justicier	juge	(elected) judge
levée de corps	enquête judiciaire	inquest
lier à la paix	relâcher sous condition	bind over to keep the peace
loger au Greffe	déposer (un projet de loi)	lodge (table) a bill etc.

Real estate

Jersey Legal French	French	English
icelle borne	ladite borne	the said boundary stone
corps de bien fonds	parcelle de bien-fonds	Latin Latin Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and... : corpus fundi
côtil		steeply sloping field or other land
côtière	côté d'un édifice où le mur n'est pas en pignon	external wall of building other than gable end
becquet de terre	champ de terre	parcel of land
borne	borne (établie)	(established) boundary stone
bail à fin d'héritage	vente (de propriété foncière)	sale
bail à termage	bail (de propriété foncière)	lease
issues		strip of land alongside road
lisière	bande de terrain	strip of land
pierre ou devise	borne (à établir)	boundary stone (newly established)
au pourportant	de la même étendue	co-extensive
relief		strip of land on other side of wall or hedge

Influence of Jersey Legal French on Jersey English

Jersey English has imported a number of Jersey Legal French titles and terminology. Many of these, in turn, derive from Jèrriais. The following are examples likely to be encountered in daily life and in news reports in Jersey: rapporteur, en défaut (in default, i.e. late for a meeting), en désastre, au greffe, greffier

Greffier

In the Channel Islands, the Greffier is the clerk to the legislature or a court. The word Greffier is French in origin. The word Greffe refers to the records kept by the Greffier or the department of government under the Greffier's management....

(clerk to Court or the States), bâtonnier (lawyer in charge of Bar, particularly for legal aid

Legal aid

Legal aid is the provision of assistance to people otherwise unable to afford legal representation and access to the court system. Legal aid is regarded as central in providing access to justice by ensuring equality before the law, the right to counsel and the right to a fair trial.A number of...

), mandataire, autorisé (returning officer

Returning Officer

In various parliamentary systems, a returning officer is responsible for overseeing elections in one or more constituencies.-Australia:In Australia a returning officer is an employee of the Australian Electoral Commission or a State Electoral Commission who heads the local divisional office...

 at elections, or other functions), projet (parliamentary bill), vraic, côtil, temps passé (time past), vin d'honneur

Vin d'honneur

Vin d'honneur literally translates from French to "Wine of honour" and is akin to a prolonged social celebration after an official ceremony like a marriage....

(municipal or official reception), Centenier, Vingtenier, Chef de Police (senior Centenier), Ministre Desservant, branchage ' onMouseout='HidePop("89612")' href="/topics/Cognate">cognate

Cognate

In linguistics, cognates are words that have a common etymological origin. This learned term derives from the Latin cognatus . Cognates within the same language are called doublets. Strictly speaking, loanwords from another language are usually not meant by the term, e.g...

even though spelt in the French manner - trimming hedges and verges on property border; also used jocularly for a haircut), Seigneur (feudal lord of the manor).